Two Rallies, One Budget
by Karen Helland

With the state capitol building closed for repairs, people who rally must gather elsewhere around the capitol campus this year. On the second day of the legislative session, January 14, two groups with very different messages about the state's budget staked out their territory.

The signs around the giant white tent near the capitol bore slogans like, "No New Taxes," and "State School Monopoly = School Failure." Organized by the Evergreen Freedom Foundation and Citizens for a Sound Economy, the "Taxpayer Day of Action" drew about 200 supporters from Vancouver to Bellingham.

Speakers, including EFF President Bob Williams, CSE Regional Director Russell Walker, talk radio host David Boze, and several state legislators, encouraged state officials to consider ways to prioritize government spending and identify core functions rather than raising taxes.

Participants emphasized the need for a change in Washington's economic climate. "We're known as a very bad place to do business," Senator Tim Sheldon said, addressing the crowd.

Lynn Harsh, EFF's executive director, emphasized that the rally's purpose was to use money more effectively, especially in education. "Excellent, long time teachers should be paid more," she said, "On the other hand, some teachers shouldn't even be in the classroom. But according to our state's rules, they will both be paid the same."

In the plaza across the street, a pool of blue plastic ponchos worn by 25,000 teachers, parents and students proclaimed a very different message about the state's budget.

Fifty thousand tennis shoes turned the manicured lawns into a mudslick, vendors hawked Pepsi and hot dogs, and stray protesters promoted their own agendas, from anti-war messages to "Lyndon LaRouche for President." A child rode through the crowd on a unicycle, with a sandwich sign proclaiming "Kids are the Future."

But the Washington Education Association's powerful organization made the rally far more than a chilly, overcrowded Olympia street fair. From pressuring school districts to rearrange their schedules and allow teachers to attend, to delivering teachers on a line of buses that stretched around Capitol Lake, to the matching signs and ponchos proclaiming "Keep the Commitment," WEA made sure to send its message: No matter what fiscal constraints the state might be facing, spend more money on education.

Many participants carried their own hand-made signs, though, and many voices within the crowd suggested that money was not the whole of the problem, nor the only solution.

Esther Monari, a parent from Yelm, came with her teenage foster sons carrying handmade signs demanding continued funding for education through Initiatives 728 and 732. Monari also called for more fiscal accountability, such as money previously pledged to education. "I want to know where the hell is the Lotto money," she said, "Where'd it go? Someone should audit."

She also complained about current education standards. "Don't just pass them on because of their age," she said, "Half these kids can't read or write."

A first grade teacher from Mercer Island, Rhonda Schweinhart, also demanded the legislature fund the initiatives. "Just because you say you don't have the money isn't an excuse," she said, "Honor the voters' wishes."

But she also complained, "If they don't want to give me a raise, stop the recertification requirements." Since she has reached the maximum number of credits on the union-promoted state salary scale, increased education will not increase her salary, yet state law requires her to continue classes to maintain her teaching certificate.

Standing at the back of the taxpayer rally tent, Ronald Young, a school board member from Marysville School District, thought state requirements got in the way of spending money on basic education and teacher pay. "I think there's a fair amount of funding, but they're not sure where it all goes." He had declined the WEA's offer of transportation to Olympia. "I figured they wouldn't give me a ride back," he said.

Maureen Fonken's children were out of school due to the WEA rally. So she brought them to the taxpayer rally. She sympathized with teachers, but thought their protest was ill-timed, saying, "They should wait until the state's out of its fiscal problems."

By early afternoon an endless procession of buses left Olympia to return teachers to their home districts. Another bus and a few cars transported taxpayer rally members to classes, tours, and finally a viewing of Governor Locke's State of the State address. Bob Williams, EFF president, and Paul Guppy, from the Washington Policy Center followed with his own comments, praising the governor's "Priorities of Government" model, but criticizing the priorities and methods chosen.

Both WEA and EFF see then January 14 rallies as just the beginning when it comes to promoting their different perspectives on state spending. In Washington politics, odd-numbered years have "long" (105-day) legislative sessions. With the fiscal challenges on the table and pressures from all sides, this one may shape up to be "extra-long."

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Contact: Marsha Richards, Communications Director, (360) 956-3482

Evergreen Freedom Foundation P.O. Box 552, Olympia, WA 98507 Phone: (360) 956-3482, Fax: (360) 352-1874 Email: effwa@effwa.org